Sante I Bentivoglio (1426–June 24, 1462) was an Italian nobleman who ruled as

tyrant A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to ...

or de facto prince of

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

from 1445 to 1462.

Early life

Officially the son of a poor blacksmith, he worked as a youth in the wool industry in Florence under another name, until he was alleged to be a son of Ercole Bentivoglio. He was educated at

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

in the court of Cosimo de' Medici the Elder. Through his putative noble father, Sante could claim to be a cousin of Annibale I Bentivoglio, at the time ruler of Bologna (also of dubious paternity).

Gonfaloniere di Giustizia

When Annibale was killed in an ambush by a rival family, the people of Bologna gave him control of city government with the title of '' Gonfaloniere di Giustizia''. He was named the sole tutor of Annibale's son, Giovanni. The event transformed Sante from a Florentine ''popolano'' into the virtual prince of Bologna. It was with Sante Bentivoglio's seizure of power, encouraged by the Duke of Milan, that the Signoria was ultimately established in Bologna. In 1454 he married Ginevra Sforza, then fourteen years old, the daughter of

Alessandro Sforza Alessandro Sforza (21 October 1409 – 3 April 1473) was an Italian condottiero and lord of Pesaro, the first of the Pesaro line of the Sforza family. Biography He was born in Cotignola in 1409, an illegitimate son of the famous condottier ...

, lord of

Pesaro Pesaro (; ) is a (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, capital of the province of Pesaro and Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the ...

, establishing his family's close relationship with the

Sforza The House of Sforza () was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. Sforza rule began with the family's acquisition of the Duchy of Milan following the extinction of the Visconti of Milan, Visconti family in the mid-15th century and ...

dynasty. The two had two daughters: Costanza (1458–1491), who married Antonmaria

Pico della Mirandola Giovanni Pico dei conti della Mirandola e della Concordia ( ; ; ; 24 February 146317 November 1494), known as Pico della Mirandola, was an Italian Renaissance nobleman and philosopher. He is famed for the events of 1486, when, at the age of 23, ...

, and Ercola (1459–1505). His son Ercole (1459-1507) became a ''condottiero'' and fought for Florence in several wars. In 1457 the Pope and Sante Bentivoglio created a mixed constitutional state in Bologna. In 1460 Sante started building the Palazzo Bentivoglio, which was destroyed in 1507 after the Bentivoglio was ousted from Bologna. He obtained from the Pope control over the city and established a communal senate including local nobles and Papal representatives. He worked in cooperation with the representatives of the Pope: Pius II visited Bologna two times in 1458 and 1459. He did not trust Sante however and said on one occasion: "The blood of my own kin has taught me a bitter lesson as to the little faith that can be placed in priests."Prescot, O., ''Princes of the Renaissance'', New York: Ransom House, 1969, p. 326.

Alliances

He allied with the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

, the

House of Sforza The House of Sforza () was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. Sforza rule began with the family's acquisition of the Duchy of Milan following the extinction of the Visconti family in the mid-15th century and ended with the d ...

and the

house of Medici The House of Medici ( , ; ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first consolidated power in the Republic of Florence under Cosimo de' Medici and his grandson Lorenzo de' Medici, Lorenzo "the Magnificent" during the first h ...

, playing on the Venetian fear of both Milan and Florence. He died in Bologna in 1462 due to illness, being succeeded by Giovanni II Bentivoglio, Annibale's son, who later remarried his widow Ginevra. The great Bolognese historian Cherubino Ghirardacci wrote that 'Sante Bentivoglio had achieved the highest reputation, not just among the citizens of Bologna, but also among the lords of Italy, which was a marvellous thing'.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bentivoglio, Giovanni 2 1426 births 1462 deaths Sante 1